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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441472">Operation: S.W.A.N.Q.U.E.E.N</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustDreamsandAnarchy/pseuds/StardustDreamsandAnarchy'>StardustDreamsandAnarchy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergence, Coparenting, F/F, Femslash, Inspired by Once Upon a Time (TV), Swan Queen - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:14:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,264</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27441472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustDreamsandAnarchy/pseuds/StardustDreamsandAnarchy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Regina was being brave for once and putting her heart back into her chest to make a confession she never thought she'd make.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evil Queen | Regina Mills &amp; Henry Mills &amp; Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Operation: S.W.A.N.Q.U.E.E.N</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am such a procrastinator omg. I was supposed to be learning finances, but i saw a Swan Queen post of tumblr and got inspired so I wrote this instead. I might continue it, lmk what you think!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sheriff Swan…” Regina could feel her heart pounding in her chest, beating against her ribcage in a futile effort to get out. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath trying hard not to let her nerves show. It had been a long time since her heart had been back in its place and she hated the vulnerability that came with it, but vulnerability was exactly what was needed right now. </p><p>Emma turned around from her desk, exasperation already in her eyes. It had been almost a week since their last big blow out and about two years since she’d first blown into town. Emma was the birth mother to Henry, Regina’s adopted son. Henry, convinced that Regina was an evil queen, had gone to find his birth mother and brought her back to their small town and ever since that moment- Regina had not known peace. </p><p>Emma Swan, child of Snow White and Prince Charming, was the one person who could put a stop to Regina’s plans and the only person who was brave enough to do it too. Everyone else was under Regina’s spell or trapped by social conventions into playing along with her, but Emma came and once she believe Henry, she’d ruined everything. She’d taken Regina’s son, her town, her powers, and now Regina hoped that Emma would take her heart. </p><p>The first time Regina had laid eyes on Emma, she’d only seen a rival for Henry’s love, a threat to the stability and happiness she had wrested from the Charming’s and the world with her own hands. She would lay awake at night, thinking of all the ways Emma could destroy it all, but she’d found that Emma and the chaos she brought made her happier. She fought with Henry less, spent more time with the townspeople. She was actually beginning to like Snow White despite herself, and Emma… Now she would lie in bed, thinking of the way she laughed, or the smell of her hair when she stormed past. The way her cheeks reddened with anger or happiness or the cold. She hadn’t felt this way since she was a child when she first fell in love. She hadn’t felt these things since she’d ripped her own heart out and put it in a box for safe keeping. The box damped all her emotions, her happiness, her anger, her love. Everything she felt was empty and cold when her heart wasn’t in her chest, but she used that emptiness to fuel her. She told herself that she could put it back in once Snow was dead at her feet, that way, she would feel the full effects of the happiness and be safe from harm. Later, when her plans changed, she told herself that she would put the heart back in after she got Henry, so she could feel the totality of her love for him. But she was scared. That feeling still came through. </p><p>Scared that she wasn’t really happy, that her love wouldn’t be enough, scared of Rumple and her mother. Right now, she was scared that Emma would reject her. But she knew she had to make a change. She had to do something right, for her son, for her town, and for herself. She had to be brave.</p><p>She laughed internally as she realized why she couldn’t beat Snow all those years. Snow had always been brave, if not foolish. She chose the hard road, the path of most resistance, because she knew it was the right thing to do. Regina had chosen hard roads as well, but always stopped short of choosing the right ones. She hoped that she was choosing the right one today as she stepped closer to Emma. </p><p>“What do you want Regina?” Emma was scowling again. She was in her chair but facing Regina with her legs spread wide and an arm slung over the chair’s back. She looked perfectly relaxed, not at all afraid of what Regina might do, despite Regina having all of her powers now. Regina caught herself staring at the Sheriff, eyes roaming every part of her body, her face, taking her all in. She looked away as she felt herself blushing.</p><p>
  <em>God, what are you doing!</em>
</p><p>“Whoa, you okay?” Emma jumped up and took a half step towards Regina. She’d never seen her blush before, didn’t even know she’d been able to, and truthfully, before tonight, such a thing would’ve been impossible for the Evil Queen. Such shows of emotion, blood rushing to her cheeks, without her heart these things always escaped Regina. </p><p>“Yeah, I’m- <em>ahem</em>” She cleared her throat a bit and gestured for Emma to sit again, taking the seat opposite the desk for herself. “I’ve come to talk to you, Sheriff Swan. I have a-“ she faltered. She had been about to say ‘proposal’ and the thought made her blush again.</p><p>“I came to tell you that I put my heart back in.”</p><p>“You what?!” Regina watched as a series of emotions played over Emma’s face before it settled on confused. “Congratulations, I guess… Can I ask what brought this on?”</p><p>“You may.” Regina watched her scowl again but continued. “Your arrival in Storybrooke made me realize that I had not been the best person before- which I always knew, of course. I didn’t want to be a good person for many of those years. I was chasing after revenge by any means and hurt many people, most of them on purpose. But the one person I never wanted to hurt was Henry. After he brought you here, I learned that I had done just that, but I want to change that. I want to be a better person again, for him…. And for you. Ms. Swan, Henry loves you. You are his mother and his best friend, and because of you, I’ve become closer to him and to so many other people around me. I like to think that we’ve become closer too.” Regina looked away when she said her last sentence, she hadn’t meant to say so much. </p><p>“Regina, I-“ Emma was searching for words, but Regina just held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks. </p><p>“Please, let me finish. I want to do what’s best for Henry and I want to be the best I can be for him, but because my heart is now in- that makes me vulnerable. It makes me <em><strong>weak</strong></em>, so I need your help Emma. I need you to be there with him, with us, in case anything happens. People may try to come to take me out for what I’ve done, and I can’t blame them. I’ll fight to defend this family, but I can’t promise that I’ll always succeed. I think that we’ll be stronger together, so I am inviting you to come live with us. I want to start co-parenting with you, in every sense of the word. We both get equal access to Henry. We both get to decide what to do when he’s sick or if he gets into trouble. You can help me learn how to be softer with him and I can help you be more of a parent and less of a friend, if you’d like…” </p><p>Regina was still too afraid to look Emma in the eyes, but she finally ventured a glance up to see Emma, grinning from ear to ear. </p><p>“I was waiting for you to ask. C’mon!” She grabbed her jacket from the chairs back, grabbed Regina’s hand and whisked her out the door into the snowy streets of Storybrooke. </p>
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